AM Roundup: The Internet Mourns the Loss of Paul Allen, Solange Announces New Album, How Sears Changed Black Purchasing Power

#RIPPaulAllen

Paul Allen, Microsoft Co-Founder & Seahawks Owner, Has Died.

TMZ reports that Allen, who died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, passed away in Seattle on Monday. Just two weeks prior, he announced that his cancer had returned after 9 years in remission.

“Recently, I learned the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma I battled in 2009 has returned,” he tweeted on Oct. 1. “I’ve begun treatment & my doctors are optimistic that I will see a good result. Appreciate the support I’ve received & count on it as I fight this challenge.”

Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, bought the Seattle Seahawks back in 1996. He was 65 years old.

Some personal news: Recently, I learned the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma I battled in 2009 has returned. I’ve begun treatment & my doctors are optimistic that I will see a good result. Appreciate the support I’ve received & count on it as I fight this challenge. https://t.co/ZolxS8lni5

Paul Allen owned the first radio station I ever worked for back in 2001 in Portland, OR. He took a gamble and started the first hip-hop station in the city. That’s where I met Ebro. Salute that man for ultimately giving me a path to succeed in life. Salute and RIP.

Solange Has a New Album on the Way. This Is Not a Drill.

Writer Ayana Mathis had the luxury of sitting down with Solange in the very studio where she fine-tuned her forthcoming project.

“What’s it called? How many songs are there? Who did she collaborate with? How will she tour it?” Mathis questions in her latest piece for the New York Times. And while Solo kept details sparse, it’s been confirmed: the album will arrive this fall.

“The record will likely arrive into the world fully formed at some mysterious and unexpected moment, like a meteor cratering into the culture. But she will not be rushed,” Mathis added.

That said, we wouldn’t be surprised if the album gets pushed back, but let’s cross our fingers so that doesn’t happen.

How Sears Changed Purchasing Power for Black Americans.

In the wake of Sears’ bankruptcy announcement, historian Louis Hyman has broken down how the department store chain made radical waves during the Jim Crow era.

During a time when stores were not self-service and Black customers needed permission to buy, Hyman shares, Sears broke through those barriers.

“The catalog undid the power of the storekeeper, and by extension the landlord,” Hyman tweeted. “Black families could buy without asking permission. Without waiting. Without being watched. With national (cheap) prices!”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read more of Hyman’s enlightening thread here.

In my history of consumption class, I teach about #Sears, but what most people don't know is just how radical the catalogue was in the era of #Jim Crow. #twitterstorians

Yep, and the sears kit homes changed lives for rural folks across race, and their former president, J. Rosenwald, started funded Black intellectuals and artists in the 30s- 40s, and built schools for rural Black children. Sears is fascinating social history. https://t.co/7WNISc4gzV